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Topic: Stuck Ludlow Plunger (Read 3737 times)

OK all you bush hot metal mechanics. How do you get a stuck plunger out of a Ludlow?

We've tried brute force and stupidity. The plunger is stuck solid. I bailed the metal out until the metal level was below the top of the well. I put some Ludlow oil around the top of the well hoping it would penetrate down to no avail.

We don't want to put too much force on the connecting rod for fear of twisting or breaking the rod.

With the machine hot, take a Coke bottle and fill it about half-full of water. Have the handle ready to slap into place. Carefully poor water into the plunger (maybe six ounces) and immediately try to work it back and forth with the handle. You'll be surprised at how often this works.

We made up the Milt's plunger puller. In the beginning we could not move the plunger at all. Finally we were able to move the plunger about half an inch 125mm. by dropping ice into the centre of the plunger. This worked but we were only able to move it a few mm at a time. We kept this up until we ran out of ice. I have a feeling that this machine hasn't had the plunger cleaned or the well reamed in years.